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9 August 2013

Closed Trade Marks Registers still existing

There are a handful of former Trade Marks Registers that have since merged into other Registers but for many intents and purposes are still in existence.

Some old Registers may not add new cases but their old registrations remain on record

Having an unhealthy collection of modern atlases as a child (in the days before the internet), I was aghast when I began working in this field and first came across a trade mark in Sabah.What? Where? I thought I'd heard of every country...

Sabah, formerly the British Crown Colony of North Borneo, had its own Trade Marks Registry operating from the capital Jesselton (now known as Kota Kinabalu). The same is true of neighbouring Sarawak.

Sabah and Sarawak joined with Malaya to form Malaysia. The region of Malaya, with connotations of its British colonial past, is now more properly referred to as Peninsular Malaysia.

The separate Trade Marks Registers remained in place although no new applications were possible; filing a Malaysian application was now required. For a stage, I understand it was possible to merge identical registrations in Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak into a single Malaysian registration but this is no longer possible. This is why there are still registrations in Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak being renewed (and assigned, etc.). However, they are all maintained and renewed at the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur but branch offices in Sabah and Sarawak.

These registrations provide protection in their relevant geographic area and there is a possibility that the owners of identical or highly similar marks may not be the same in different parts of Malaysia.

It is perhaps worth noting that Malaysia now contains three federal territories. Two of these are in Peninsula Malaysia (Malaya) but the other, the wealthy island of Labuan, was ceded by Sabah to the federal Malaysian government in 1984. As such it is possible that an owner of identical Malaya/Sabah/Sarawak registrations would not have coverage for the whole modern day country of Malaysia. (In this event it would, of course, be possible to make a new application in Malaysia.)

Flag of Transkei, one of three bantustans that had their own trade marks law

Of more notorious note are the three trade mark jurisdictions derived from former bantustans in South Africa. Four of these achieved independence, albeit unrecognised by the international community, the so-called "TBVC States" of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei. The latter introduced intellectual property legislation in respect of copyright only so it was just the first three that had Trade Marks Registers.

Flag of Venda

Following the end of apartheid, these Registers were generally incorporated into the South African Register unless there were overlapping rights in which case they continued to cover the applicable geographic area (with provisions to cover the whole of South Africa if the overlapping rights lapsed or were cancelled). I have no idea how many Transkei/Bophuthatswana/Venda registrations now exist - I imagine they would be mostly held by local companies and they are relatively few in number. They have a special numbering in place. They are managed by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in Pretoria.

The flag of Bophuthatswana

Bophuthatswana was arguably the most well known of the bantustans as it contained Sun City (casinos being illegal in apartheid South Africa) and was the setting of an infamous coup in 1994 that saw the bantustan's last leader, Lucas Mangope, trying to cling to power and an invasion by Eugène Terre'Blanche's Afrikaner Resistance Movement.

Elsewhere in Africa, OAPI has grown at various junctures. Mali joined up in 1984 and was followed in 1990 by Guinea. Other countries have followed suit, but in the case of Guinea and Mali they had Trade Marks Registers of their own prior to OAPI accession (the others were Cautionary Notice countries).

Flag of Guinea

Mali's Register has now ceased to exist, but Guinea's is still - somewhat questionably - operational for renewals, assignments, etc.

Finally, at the tip of Africa is Tangier (sometimes Tangiers). Prior to independence, Morocco was largely governed by France and Spain, except the city of Tangier which was under the administration of various countries as the Tangier International Zone. The city enjoyed libertarianism unlike the rest of Morocco and even much of Europe and became the home for a number of escapist residents. It also had its own trade mark law which remained when it was integrated into Morocco upon independence in 1956.

Flag of Tangier International Zone

Parallel to this was a trade mark regime in "Morocco (Casablanca)"; the Casablanca often being added as this was the location of the Trade Marks Office and to distinguish it from Tangier. Registrations in Morocco (Casablanca) covered the whole of Morocco except Tangier.

In late 2004, a new trade mark law was introduced in Morocco to cover the entire country. Existing Morocco (Casablanca) and Tangier registrations would remain in force, each covering the whole country. Many trade mark owners would register in both. Upon renewal they will now only have to renew one of the registrations. This could be as late as 2024 in view of the 20-year registrations terms governed by the old laws in Morocco and Tangier.

These registrations can all be marked as covering Morocco, but many records may not have been amended to show this so you may still come across registrations in Tangier and/or Morocco (Casablanca).

Pay attention with country codes

Be careful with respect to country codes as codes used for these jurisdictions are often created internally or by database companies and then may come into use for other countries internationally. SS was commonly used for Sabah, but this is now the country code for South Sudan, independent since 2011. I have seen TK used for Transkei, but Tokelau is assigned this country code. Tokelau does not have a trade mark law (New Zealand registrations currently cover the territory) but it does possess a Domain Name Registry using this as its ccTLD.

We can come across many obscure countries when managing trade marks around the world. When it comes to post-registration matters like renewals then it is apparent that we have a few more jurisdictions to take into account.

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the smart trade mark blog

Hi, welcome to my blog, the Smart Trade Mark blog. I am an intellectual property specialist with particular expertise in the development of processes and in supplier management to enable IP portfolios to be administered effectively, and in the worldwide clearing, registering and renewing of trade marks and registered designs.

This blog is for people with strong familiarity of trade mark and IP administration and procedures. It will aim to discuss issues of best practice in IP department administration and to explore every corner of the world with respect to trade marks with any developments and practical commentary. It cannot be black and white and a one size does not fit all in this field. It might express opinions that you disagree with. Please read in context. Comment and debate are welcome. Please also pose questions. I can't guarantee I will know all the answers, but I might know where to find out or you might get an answer from another reader. And if you have the answers to any of my questions, please share your answers and experiences. It's not intended as legal advice and it will surely not be able to explore every angle possible as specific cases would produce different needs. Ideas - if it gives you any then that is the main thing.

It's smart because that's my name. It is left to readers to decide if it's smart in any other ways.